82 THE DRAMA. 



guarded against in the future representations of the piece. The princi- 

 pal character, that of Grimaldi, was given to Mr. H. Mathews, who cer- 

 tainly did it ample justice. 



CovENT Garden. — Matters have proceeded but indifferently well at 

 this theatre during the last month . The principal novelty brought out has 

 been The Bronze Horse. It was attractive for some nights, but has been 

 losing ground in public favour. It has some excellent scenes, but, 

 as a whole, there is a heaviness about it. We doubt if the receipts at 

 the treasury have at all been equal to the expenditure in the getting 

 up of the spectacle. But, even had the piece been more meritorious than 

 it is, it would not have " drawn," in the more enlarged acceptation of 

 the term, while The Jeioess was in the zenith of its popularity. Mr. 

 Osbaldiston has committed a great mistake in allowing himself for a 

 moment to suppose that he could cope with Mr. Bunn in the article of 

 •' spectacles." One insuperable obstacle, were there no other to his 

 doing so, would be found in the " reduced prices," of Covent- Garden; 

 he could not afford the necessary expenditure of money. Besides, the 

 only pieces which are likely to " attract" the " reduced price" part of 

 the play-going public, are Jonathan Bradford, Poll and My Partner 

 Joe, Black-Eyed Susan, cSc. 



Saturday, the 26th of December, being the first night of the panto- 

 mime, the house, to use phraseology which the gods will understand, 

 was an overflowing bumper in both galleries and the pit. The boxes 

 were not so well attended at the commencement, but they also filled up 

 at half-price. The very name of the pantomime. Harlequin Guy Fawkes, 

 or the Fifth of November, could not fail, on boxing-night, to fill the 

 loftier regions of the theatre. The pantomime was preceded by The 

 Carmelites, and The Bronze Horse, both of which pieces, but especially 

 the latter, were very favourably received. It would have added much to 

 the enjoyment, which that part of the audience in the boxes and pit 

 derived from the representation of these pieces, had their divinityships 

 in the neighbourhood of the ceiling been somewhat less uproarious. 

 This, however, they were above submitting to. It was boxing-night, 

 and, agreeably to ancient usage, they were determined to carry matters 

 with a high hand — to have everything, in short, their own way. The 

 commencement of the pantomime, however, had a wonderful effect in 

 hushing the storm of voices which raged during the whole of the pre- 

 vious performances. The deities in the upper regions were propitiated 

 by the very first scene: the huge noses, "prodigious" eyes, and the 

 expression generally of the countenances of Grumble-gloom, Mischief, 

 and the other personages of the same character, were just the things for 

 them. Scene succeeded scene, one character followed another, and 

 lively incidents passed in such rapid succession before their eyes, that 

 they must have been a strange race of deities, indeed, if they had not 

 been gratified to their heart's content. This we know, that the less 

 dignified people in the boxes and pit were pleased to a degree of which, 

 we are sure, they could have had no previous anticipation. Some of 

 the scenes were beautiful. That representing Lambeth Palace^and the 

 Thames, was really excellent. The only defect in it was, that while 

 some of the boats which were ever and anon gliding up and down the 

 river, bad their shadows correctly given, others had no shadows at all 



